Myanmar army set fire to hundreds of buildings during a three-day operation in Saghaing province in the north of the country, residents and local media reported.
Saghaing province has been the scene of violent clashes and bloody reprisals since Myanmar's February 1, 2021 military coup. The local People's Defense Force regularly clashes with the military.
According to analysts, this militia has surprised the Burmese military with its effectiveness and security forces have repeatedly conducted airstrikes in this area to support ground forces fighting the rebels.
According to local residents and local media, soldiers torched hundreds of houses over three days last week in the villages of Qin and Ke Taung.
The raid began on May 26. Soldiers stormed the villages firing in the air, forcing residents to flee, said a resident who wished to remain anonymous.
The next morning we saw smoke rising from our village before they left, he recounted. More than 200 houses were burnt to the ground. Mine has been completely destroyed, only its concrete foundation remains, he added.
Images filmed by a drone and obtained by AFP show clouds of smoke billowing from these villages, which are located next to the banks of the Chidwyn River.
AFP has been able to confirm that these images show these villages and that they were not published before last week, but has been unable to independently confirm the testimonies of residents. In addition, satellite images from NASA captured the fires in Ke Taung and Qin villages last week.
Soldiers destroyed our homes, complained a resident of Ke Taung who asked to use the pseudonym Aye Tin. They also burned the boats we use for transportation and to bring food to our village, he added.
The junta in Myanmar has repeatedly denied that the military has burned homes, attributing these events to terrorists.
The UN has already denounced the commission of possible war crimes and crimes against humanity since the coup. Nearly 1,900 civilians have been killed by security forces, including women and children. Nearly 14,000 have been arrested.
This is not the first time Myanmar's military has been accused of war crimes.
In 2017, more than 750,000 members of the Rohingya Muslim minority were forced to seek refuge in neighbouring Bangladesh to escape persecution by the military, with the US calling its actions genocide.
Source: CNA
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